Michael Steele warns of GOP being ground ‘into the dust of nothing’ over Trump support

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Steele offered a stark assessment of the Republican Party on Tuesday, arguing long-term growth for the party is not likely with former President Trump at the helm. 

MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Willie Geist pointed out Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley still garnered about 40 percent of South Carolina’s GOP primary vote last weekend, despite losing by nearly 20 points to Trump in her home state, when speaking with Steele on Tuesday. Some political analysts have argued this indicates Trump could struggle to hold a lead in November’s general election. 

Responding to Geist’s comments, Steele said, “Yeah, it’s how you grind yourself down as a national party into the dust of nothing because the reality as it is … there is no real runway here to sustain a long-term growth prospect for the Republican Party with Donald Trump as its head.”

“[The Republican Party] has spent the last eight years systematically taking out the leadership that could win. The candidates that could win are losing in primaries,” he added. 

When it comes to Haley, Steele dismissed the 40 percent argument and questioned where the former South Carolina governor’s “base” is. 

“Here’s the deal. That 40 percent is not a real number,” Steele said. “I mean, when you’ve got Democrats and independents who are voting in your primary, in the Republican primary, you have to say something to yourself about, ‘Well where is my base?’”

“You know, when 22 percent of that 40 percent was actually independents and Democrats who were in that, who voted in Nikki’s South Carolina primary. So, she lost her home state among Republicans by a much bigger number. And so then the question becomes — how do you translate that into a national campaign for Super Tuesday?” 

South Carolina has an “open primary,” meaning any registered voter in the state can decide vote in either the Republican or Democratic presidential primary.

Some exit polls showed about 28 percent of the Republican primary voters were independents, while Democrats made up about 5 percent, CBS News reported Sunday.

“Nikki is attracting a wide range of voters who want to make America normal again. If you go to her events, you see conservatives, independents who feel they don’t have a home in either party, and Reagan Democrats who are frustrated with Biden’s policies,” Haley’s national spokesperson, Olivia Perez-Cubas, said in a statement to The Hill.

“If Republicans want to start winning again, we need to be a story of addition, not subtraction,” she added.

Trump has trounced Haley in the three primary states in which the rivals have competed. The two did not compete in Nevada, where a dueling primary and caucus were held instead. Despite the losses, Haley has vowed to remain in the race until at least Super Tuesday.

Steele additionally discussed Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump and how she could be the next co-chair of the RNC. 

“The reality is Donald Trump, everything he touches does die. Everything he has tried to put in place does not work,” he said. “The RNC is now going to be controlled by his daughter-in-law, basically.”

The former president threw his support behind his daughter-in-law earlier this month, and Lara has vowed to spend “every single penny” on RNC funds to reelect him to the White House. 

The Hill reached out to Haley and Trump’s campaigns for comment.